LEXINGTON, Ky. -- As it waits for its trademark power running game to get rolling, Kentucky has been more than thrilled to find some long-awaited explosiveness in its passing attack.

Senior quarterback Will Levis threw for 303 yards and four touchdowns on Saturday to help the No. 8 Wildcats hold off upset-minded Northern Illinois 31-23 at Kroger Field.

Three of the touchdown passes were big plays -- a 69-yard strike to senior wide receiver Tayvion Robinson, a 70-yard connection with freshman wideout Barion Brown, and another score from Robinson on a 40-yard play.

Brown also had a 15-yard touchdown catch as he and Robinson combined for 11 receptions for 249 yards and four scores for Kentucky (4-0, 1-0 SEC).

Levis completed 18 of 26 passes on the night with no interceptions and recorded his third 300-yard effort of the season.

"You gotta be who you are," UK head coach Mark Stoops said, "and right now, we have a very talented quarterback and we have some explosive wide receivers, so we're creating some big plays."

"Great protection, first and foremost," Levis said of the explosive plays, "... and receivers being where I knew they would be. It was really cool to see it all come together."

Kentucky is poised to get star running back Chris Rodriguez back in the mix next week as SEC play resumes with a Top 25 matchup at Ole Miss. The Cats are hoping his return will bolster a rushing attack that has struggled to find consistency through the first four games of the season.

Northern Illinois (1-3, 0-0 MAC) outrushed the Cats 128-103 on Saturday, although UK did get a solid 12-carry, 85-yard effort from tailback Kavosiey Smoke.

Kentucky broke a 14-14 tie at the half with a 70-yard touchdown pass from Levis to Brown on the third play of the third quarter. A 49-yard field goal by Matt Ruffolo extended the lead to 24-14 late in the third quarter, and things looked good for the Cats after Robinson's second TD grab of the day made it 31-14 with 8:46 to go.

But the Huskies, who are expected to challenge for the MAC championship this season, battled back within one score on a 38-yard field goal by John Richardson with 5:26 to go, a defensive stop, and Justin Lynch's 2-yard touchdown run with 2;47 remaining.

Kentucky stopped a two-point conversion attempt and recovered an onside kick to preserve the tougher-than-expected victory, its nation-leading 19th in a row against non-conference opponents.

"Just, overall, a sluggish game. Good to get it behind us," Stoops said. "We know that's a good football team that's tough and gonna play hard and will compete for its conference championship."

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In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory...

KEY MOMENT:

After giving up a late touchdown to NIU to tie the game at 14-14 going into halftime, the Cats' collective mood was not all that good. That changed quickly, however, as Will Levis found speedy freshman Barion Brown on a slant pass across the middle with the third play from scrimmage, and Brown was off to the races. It seemed to be just what the Cats needed to get their energy back and a build a comfortable lead.

GAME BALL:

Tayvion Robinson, Kentucky -- The transfer wideout was targeted seven times on Saturday, and he delivered seven receptions. Two of them went to the house. He finished with 147 yards on the night, in a Wan'Dale-esque performance.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1st - Kentucky quarterback, Will Levis, to have back to back 300-yard passing performances since Patrick Towles (EKU, Auburn) in the 2015 season.

5 - Sacks by the NIU defense.

8 - Game winning streak is the fifth-longest in UK program history. The longest is 12 spanning the 1909-10 seasons.

10-for-16 - Cats' conversions on third down.

12 - Tackles by UK super senior linebacker Jacquez Jones to lead the Cats.

16.8 - Average yards per pass completion by UK quarterback Will Levis.

209 - Yards after catch by the UK receiving corps.

QUOTABLE:

"He's got that team on his back right now. The kid is a beast." -- UK head coach Mark Stoops on Wildcats quarterback Will Levis

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to action next week at Ole Miss. The Rebels (4-0, 0-0 SEC) defeated Tulsa 35-27 on Saturday in Oxford.